Quick Chicken Recipes

Chicken Burritos with Black-Bean Salsa and Pepper Jack

Pepper Jack cheese looks innocent enough but adds a nice kick to these burritos. If you prefer a milder taste, use regular Jack instead.

Chicken Saltimbocca

Chef Way The chefs at Felidia in New York City wrap boned quail in speck (smoked prosciutto) and pan-roast it until succulent.

Easy Way Replace the quail with pounded chicken breasts; cover one side of the chicken with prosciutto and sear in a pan.

Quick Chicken Kiev

To make a classic chicken Kiev, Ukrainian cooks pound cutlets flat, roll them around a log of herb butter, then bread and fry them. Here, Grace Parisi simplifies the dish by cutting a pocket into the breast to hold the butter.

Pulled-Chicken Sandwiches

Classic eastern North Carolina barbecue sauce has a vinegar — not a tomato — base. It's delicious tossed with pulled chicken instead of the usual pork, and served the traditional way: piled onto soft buns and smothered under cold, creamy coleslaw.

Grilled Chicken Breasts with Lemon and Thyme

A bold mixture of red-pepper flakes, garlic, thyme, lemon juice, and olive oil serves as a spicy marinade for bone-in chicken breasts. If you want your chicken spicier still, increase the red pepper or leave the breasts in the marinade for an hour or two.

Easy Chicken Fajitas

This 20-minute chicken fajita recipe is great for a quick, weeknight-friendly meal.

Chicken Pan Bagnat

Literally "bathed bread" in the ancient dialect of Provence, pan bagnat delivers meat, bread and salad all in one handful. You both brush the bread with oil and let the finished rolls sit for a few minutes to allow the dressing to permeate the bread and "bathe" it with flavor.

Chicken Livers with Caramelized Onions and Madeira

Rich-tasting caramelized onions combined with Madeira make a spectacular sauce for chicken livers. Serve with rice or over toast so you won't miss a single drop.

Maple-Glazed Chicken Breasts with Mustard Jus

Chef David Slater glazes chicken breasts with maple syrup, sherry vinegar and orange juice infused with anise and other spices. Then he serves them with a confited chicken leg, caramelized root vegetables, braised kale and crisp Benton's bacon. To make it even easier, glaze the chicken breasts with a sweet-tangy blend of syrup and vinegar and skip the confited leg and root vegetables.

Basil-Stuffed Chicken Breasts

Serve thick slices of breaded chicken breast halves stuffed with a bacon and basil paste.

Chicken Salad with Cucumber, Red Pepper, and Honey-Mustard Dressing

Starting with cooked chicken — leftovers, perhaps, or a store-bought rotisserie chicken — keeps the preparation time short. If you want just chicken salad with no greens, skip the lettuce; double the chicken, cucumber, bell pepper, onion, and tarragon; and toss them with the dressing.

Chicken Stir-Fry with Asparagus and Cashews

This chicken-cashew stir-fry is a lighter take on a dish that Stéphane Vivier orders at Rin's Thai in Sonoma, California. Its Asian flavors come from a bright mix of fish sauce, oyster sauce and basil — and just a little oil.

Sautéed Chicken Breasts with Fennel and Rosemary

The Mediterranean flavors of fennel, garlic, and rosemary are perfect with chicken. The fennel and chicken are sautéed and then briefly braised in chicken broth, which becomes a tasty light sauce.

Skillet Chicken-and-Mushroom Potpie

Grace Parisi proves that making potpie doesn't have to take a long time with this one-skillet version, prepared with store-bought rotisserie chicken and — her stroke of brilliance — buttered white bread in place of the usual labor-intensive puff pastry crust.

Moroccan Chicken-and-Couscous Soup

A mainstay in Morocco, steamed couscous topped with a very liquid stew is undeniably delectable, but not exactly quick. We've found, though, that combining all the ingredients in a soup yields similarly sumptuous results in a much shorter time. The dish is decidedly spicy; if you prefer less heat, just reduce the amount of cayenne.

Roast Chicken with Butternut Squash

This winter-weight dish calls for a simple but robust red, and the sturdy Montepulciano d'Abruzzo, with its roasted-berry flavor, is just right. Best of all, it's among the least expensive of all Italian reds.

Chicken and Cabbage Tacos with Cilantro Cream

Dress up shredded rotisserie chicken with jalapeños, cilantro, sour cream, and fresh lime juice.

Chicken Goulash with Biscuit Dumplings

The chicken stock and sour cream both serve a dual purpose here: They moisten the biscuits and enrich the thick, luscious sauce.

Pecan-Crusted Chicken with Mustard Sauce

Nutty sautéed chicken dipped in a creamy mustard sauce delivers nicely varied textures and flavors. Using cornstarch rather than flour makes the crust especially crisp.

Spinach Salad with Smoked Chicken, Apples, Walnuts and Bacon

Hot garlic bread, served either plain or with a little Parmesan cheese, goes well with all the flavors here.

Sesame-Coated Chicken with Broccoli

In this quick dish, F&W's Marcia Kiesel coats chicken pieces with sesame seeds before sautéing, then coats them in a spicy ginger-garlic sauce.

Roast Chicken with Rosemary and Lemon

Lemon zest and rosemary placed in the cavity of the bird permeate the meat as it cooks and give a subtle Mediterranean accent to the pan juices. We call for dried rosemary, but if you have fresh, use several sprigs in place of the one tablespoon.

Butter Fried Chicken

"This dish is in my head more often than not. That's saying something. It's one of our monthly meals at the Zimmern house, and its yet another brilliant way to do chicken for a crowd that includes kids. Paired with a bright citrus punch and salty capers, this chicken entrée makes everyone happy." — Andrew Zimmern

Rustic Garlic Chicken

Yes, three heads of garlic. You don't have to peel the cloves first. They soften during cooking and take on a subtle sweetness. Each person squeezes the garlic out of its skin onto the plate to eat with the chicken.

Persian Chicken Salad

Traditionally, Persian salads are decked with a variety of fresh herbs, such as mint, basil, and parsley. You may want to add some sprigs to garnish this version; the leaves can be eaten right along with the salad. Hot pita is an ideal accompaniment.

Stir-Fried Chicken with Chinese Cabbage

A simple sauce of garlic, hot pepper, sherry, wine vinegar, and tomato, adds intense flavor to this quick stir-fry and it practically makes itself while the chicken and cabbage cook. Steamed rice is an ideal accompaniment.